Bart may be a bit dense about people looking at him that way anyway, having no experience with it in the first place. Max is safe from scrutiny (for now.)

"You're doing what you enjoy to help other people," he concludes, and he softens further around the edges. Of course, it's short-lived when Max asks that, and he shakes his head. "I... it's complicated. If we talk, could it perhaps be somewhere quiet?"